Matambo–Phombeya High Voltage Power Line

The Matambo–Phombeya High Voltage Power Line is a high voltage electricity power line under construction, connecting the high voltage substation at Matambo, Tete Province, Mozambique to another high voltage substation at Phombeya, Balaka District, Malawi.

Location
The power line starts at Matambo, in Tete Province Mozambique, at a 400kV substation there. The power line would travel in a general north-eastern direction to the Mozambique/Malawi border, approximately 140 km away. From there, the power line would continue into Malawi for another 78 km, to end at Phombeya, Balaka District, Malawi, for a total length of 218 km.

Overview
The construction of this power line has been on the books, as far back as 2007. The World Bank initially approved a $93 million line of credit for this project, but cancelled it in 2010. The main objective of the electricity transmission project is to connect the electricity grids of Malawi and Mozambique. This will allow Malawi to purchase 50 megawatts of power from the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Power Station in Mozambique. Also, through the interconnections of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), Malawi will be able to import a further 150 megawatts from South Africa through the same power line.

Construction in Mozambique
The length of the power line in Mozambique is approximately 140 km. The entire project in both countries is valued at US$154 million, borrowed from the World Bank, KfW and the European Investment Bank.

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract was awarded to L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Limited (Lasern & Toubro), an Indian company. L&T will lay the line from the Matambo electricity substation to the community of Zobue at the international border with Malawi, a distance of about 142 km. That line will cost over US$35 million. The new 400kV substation at Matambo will be constructed by a consortium comprising Sinohydro of China and Cepco1 of Malaysia, at a budgeted cost of US$21 million.

Construction in Malawi
Work in Malawi involves the construction of 78 km of a double-circuit 400kV transmission line and expansion of the electric substation at Phombeya. Each country is responsible for the transmission infrastructure within its territory. Completion of this energy infrastructure is expected in 2023.

In 2019 the World Bank lent US$15 million to the government of Malawi towards the construction of this line, along with a new 220kV substation in Phombeya, Malawi.